Victorians will go to the polls on Saturday November 29, with the state entering caretaker mode at 6pm Tuesday 4 November.
Posing nine questions to interested political parties, the Arts Industry Council of Victoria (AICV) have published feedback from the Greens, the Australian Sex Party, the Liberal Party and the Australian Labor Party on ‘issues that reflect the concerns, needs and aspirations of the Victorian arts and cultural sector.’
ArtsHub followed up with further questions to each of the party’s arts’ representatives asking more specifically about their views on the challenges facing Victorian artists, the definition of success in the arts, the role of corporate sponsorship and the bureaucratic burdens on arts organisations. We also invited the politicians to tell us about their favourite arts event or performance in the last six months.
The Greens
Greens member for Southern Metropolitan Region and spokesperson for the arts, Sue Pennicuik, explicitly references issues facing Melbourne’s live music scene as a concern.
‘We support the provision of ongoing and well-resourced public arts programs and a vibrant and economically viable local live music industry through the protection of live music venues and performance spaces,’ Pennicuik said. ‘The Greens will continue to advocate for the strengthening and implementation of the agent-of-change principle.’ Championed by industry lobby group SLAM, the principle shifts responsibility for soundproofing on developers or residents that move within the vicinity of an established venue.
Following federal cuts to community television, the Greens also want to bring community media back onto the agenda.
‘The Greens would like to see further measures to increase participation and attendance of grassroots arts events/festivals, particularly for marginalised groups and those living with disability, by providing ongoing funding to peak bodies such as Arts Access Victoria, and support for community radio and television,’ Pennicuik said.
Contending that artists’ challenges are ‘age-old problems’, Pennicuik states that, ‘For artists, it’s keeping body and soul together – keeping a roof over one’s head as a full-time artist – it is difficult for artists, whether musicians, actors, painters, sculptors, dancers, comedians or others to making a living solely as an artist.
‘It is also increasingly difficult to find affordable places to “do” art, as real estate values sky rocket and artists are forced to move. I’d like to see affordable housing and working spaces for practising artists to be better catered for in urban planning.
‘Also, technology has brought with it benefits and challenges such as increased ability of artists to connect directly with audiences but also challenges such as pirating, etc. I think for arts organisations, it is a constant struggle to maintain ongoing funding and support base and for fledgling organisations, it is a challenge to attract it.’
Nevertheless, Pennicuik maintains that ‘artistic freedom is fundamental and should not be interfered with by sponsors be they government or private.’
For Pennicuik, success in the arts is ‘a community where all forms of art are very visible and supported in terms of participation and “consumption”’. The Greens advocate ‘grant applications processes that are simple to access and independently evaluated.’
Pennicuik nominates Bell Shakespeare’s Henry V as her recent favourite arts event and states she is ‘looking forward to the annual Linden postcard show this week.’
The Australian Sex Party
Fiona Patten is the President of the Australian Sex Party, a minor party which proudly boasts of campaigning with an arts policy at both state and federal levels. The Sex Party lists the rights of artists, supporting artists with disabilities, the independent and community sectors as key issues, as well as issues of censorship, freedom of speech and alternatives to existing copyright laws in the digital economy.
Like the Greens, the Australian Sex Party cite the ongoing health of the live music sector as a significant concern.They also support a shift in emphasis towards the small-to-medium sector.
‘The Sex Party will also champion a decrease in annual appropriation for the metropolitan-based, state-owned cultural institutions, redistributing one per cent per annum for five years to the small-to-medium sector with the view of increasing this sector’s ability to generate their own income,’ Patten said.
‘Furthermore, we will advocate for a change in entry fee structure for the state-owned cultural institutions that continues to provide free entry for Victorians but charges a nominal fee for interstate and international visitors.’
Despite identifying opportunities for revenue-raising and recognising the broad benefits of the arts to the economy, the Sex Party advocate decreasing state funding for the arts.
‘The Sex Party would like to see an increase of private, corporate and philanthropic support, with the view to decrease state support of the arts,’ Patten said.
This year, Patten is contesting a seat in the Victorian Legislative Committee (the upper house). If elected, she vows to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to repeal the Graffiti Prevention Act 2007.
‘We see this law as a major imposition to freedom of expression. Moreover, these laws are somewhat contradictory to practices and acceptable tolerance of graffiti within Melbourne’s CBD,’ she said.
Joel Murray, Sex Party Business Manager and Federal Agent, sees ‘sustainable funding’ as the biggest challenge facing artists.
Murray opposes the notion that arts organisations should be prepared to adjust their programming for corporate sponsorship, however he believes artists should be strategic.
‘If we take the incidents surrounding the Sydney Biennale earlier this year, I think it was an opportunity lost for the artists who decided to withdraw their works from the exhibition. For example, I would have thought it much more effective to use their art to reflect their opposition to the work of the corporate sponsor, after all it is the role of artists to reflect and challenge events that are happening within our social, economic and political environment,’ Murray said.
Taking a broad view of success in the arts, Murray states ‘ Ultimately, if the artists’ work has initiated a strong emotional response (either negative or positive) then I think that is a success.’
Reflecting on his favourite recent arts event, Murray nominates ‘Hex by James Welsby as part of the AIDS 2014 Conference arts and cultural program.’
The Liberal Party
Representing the Liberal Party, the current Victorian Arts Minister, the Honorable Heidi Victoria MP states, ‘The arts thrive in an environment where the economy is strong and Victorians have the means to experience and support them.’
‘The government has an essential role to play in supporting the arts sector,’ Victoria said. ‘But it can only do this if it effectively harnesses the entrepreneurial spirit of our many and diverse artists and arts organisations.’
Victoria identifies challenges to artists and arts organisations as primarily issuing from the current historical context.
‘Victoria’s arts and cultural sector is being shaped by changes to our broader economy and society, but also by distinct trends in our digital age which are not only creating unprecedented challenges but also opportunities for artists and audiences,’ Victoria said.
She also notes that pressures come from mounting and dynamic audience expectations.
‘Audiences increasingly expect diverse, high-quality yet affordable year-round cultural experiences. They are willing to travel for these experiences, but also want them close to home or easily accessed through mobile technology and other digital platforms,’ she said.
While the Minister emphasises ‘new partnerships and collaborations’, she states that ‘It is not the Government’s role or the private sector to stifle the independent voice of the arts.’
According to Victoria, success in the arts is an effect of collaboration and economics.
‘The success and strength of the Victorian arts sector has not come about by chance,’ Victoria said. ‘A long and consistent history of investing in the arts by Government and the private sector has helped foster artistic enterprise and excellence, and created a rich cultural legacy for all Victorians.’
As part of the Napthine Government’s ‘strong plan for the arts’, the Liberals cite the strengthening of the sector’s sustainability and increased international engagement as significant.
They also stress a functional role for the arts in society.
‘We will continue to support the vital contribution that the arts make to our physical and mental well-being, the education of our children and the care of our senior Victorians,’ Victoria said.
‘A key impact of the arts is its positive impact on people. This Government has worked to connect the arts and arts policy with every aspect of public life – with health, science and education, industry, fashion and design.’
Victoria says that choosing a favourite arts event ‘is like asking someone to pick a favourite child.’ However, she nominates White Night as one of the year’s highlights.
‘I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed offerings from Polyglot and Arena and commercially produced shows like Les Misèrables, Wicked and The King and I,’ Victoria said.
The Australian Labor Party
Martin Foley MP, State Labor Member for Albert Park, Shadow Minister for Water, Arts and Youth Affairs and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader of the Opposition on Equality, contends ‘the sector has gone backwards’ over the last four years. He ties this degeneration to the government’s ‘cuts in other related sectors – such as TAFE, education, cultural tourism, health programs and multicultural engagement.’
Labor proposes the establishment of a new agency, Creative Victoria, which brings together the role of Arts Victoria, Film Victoria and Multimedia.
‘We will be focusing attention on the importance of a collaborative approach with the small, medium and independent sectors as the area of greatest need,’ Foley said. ‘These organisations are the drivers of the creativity that Victoria prides its reputation of creativity being based on.’
Under an Andrews Labor Government, Foley states that ‘All departments of government will be required to identify their contributions to arts, culture and creativity efforts. These will then be required to align with the policy framework of Creative Victoria.
‘It is our commitment that Creative Victoria will be an opportunity to increase the opportunities of government support,’ Foley said.
Reflecting on the challenges facing artists today, Foley reduces problems to a perceived common denominator.
‘A Liberal Government that has no plan, no policy and no commitment to the role that creativity, arts and culture can play in the lives of all Victorians,’ he said.
Foley maintains that corporate sponsorship is a ‘reality’ for most arts organisations. ‘But the rules of the partnership should be understood and appreciated. It should not come at the cost of creative independence or artistic decision-making.’
For the Shadow Arts Minister, success in the arts ‘is ensuring culture and creative activity continues to be important and valued features of the lives of Victorians.
‘Dealing with complex and intractable social issues, finding new ways to build solutions through cultural and creative industries – this is what a successful States Arts, Culture and Creative Industries approach looks like,’ he said.
Criticising the Liberal Government’s handling of changes to the grant application process, Foley states the ‘current arrangements are opaque, difficult to navigate and designed to confuse.
‘What’s more, the current VicArts system and the OIP [Organisational Investment Program] are on an irreversible road to ruin. They have been used to hide cuts, create the illusion in the face of cuts (e.g. the 50% cut in support for contemporary music, or the removal of indexation to Lead Organisations and many others), and are bound to fail.
‘Given the scheduled train wreck awaiting the sector in 2016 when the current round of OIP funding ceases, there is a need for the next Government to urgently collaborate with the sector,’ Foley said.
He nominates Bhangra Down Under as his most recent enjoyable night out at the theatre ‘for totally over-the-top Bollywood hits, the Punjab sensorial, electro dance and song cultural experience. It had to be seen to be believed and wasn’t what I was expecting for Sunday evening in St Kilda,’ he said.
